We’ll be using Adobe Illustrator to create this tutorial. A water ripple effect can easily be achieved using a radial gradient. Besides this, I will be showing you how to create realistic water droplets using the gradient mesh tool.

Step 1

Let’s get started by drawing a circle using the Ellipse Tool. Hold Shift as you drag on the canvas to make it a perfect circle. Next, change it to a gradient fill in the tool palette. By default it is a white to black gradient.

Step 2

Open up your Gradient Palette (Window>Gradient). Change the Type to Radial and select the gradient end point (square with an arrow icon). Set it to blue using your Color Palette.

Step 3

Select the first gradient point and set it to a dark blue. Click beside it to create a new gradient point, and set it to white. Repeat this to create a new gradient point beside this new point, and set it back to blue.

Step 4

Let’s continue repeating the steps until we have something as shown below. You will notice the darkest point is set in the middle. Don’t worry too much how the ripple will look like at this stage, as we can tweak it later on.

Step 5

Select the circle and you will see a bounding box appear. Drag a corner and squash it into a an oval shape.

Step 6

Now we will start creating the background. Draw a new Rectangle Shape. By default it will use the radial gradient we have created.

Step 7

Open up your Gradient Palette again. Change it to a Linear Type this time. Keep the start and end points. Delete the rest of the unnecessary points. Finally, select the start point and change it to a lighter blue.

Step 8

Send the background to the back by pressing (Ctrl/Command + Left Bracket). Resize the background so that we have more space on the top. Select the Gradient Tool and click and drag from top to bottom to change the gradient direction.

Step 9 – More Ripples

Let’s draw more ripples to make it look more realistic. Draw a new oval shape using the Ellipse Tool. Select the Scissors Tool. Then cut it at the bottom left and top right. This will break it into 2 segments.

Step 10

Drag the 2 segments into the ripple. You can resize it by dragging the bounding box. Repeat the above steps to create more ripples, as shown below. Have fun adding new ripples until you achieve a great looking ripple effect.

Step 11 – The Ripple Brush

Let’s start creating the brush for the ripple. Draw a long thin oval with the Ellipse Tool. Select the Pen Tool, hover it to right corner, and hold Alt/Option. It will change to an arrow icon. Click the point to change it to a corner point. Do this for the left corner and bottom pont.

Step 12

Click the bottom point and press the Arrow Up key to move the point until the baseline becomes straight as shown below. Open up your Brushes Palette (Window>Brushes). Then drag your shape to the palette to create a New Art Brush.

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Step 13

Select all the ripples and choose the new art brush. The brush effect will be applied to the ripples. If the ripples appear too thick you can change the stroke weight to make it thinner.

Step 14

Now we will need to expand it so that we can fill it with a gradient. Select all the ripples, and go Object>Flatten Transparency. Set the Raster/Vector Balance to 100 and click OK. It is grouped by default after your flattened it. Press Ctrl+Shift+G/Command+Shift+G to ungroup it.

Step 15

Select each ripple and give it a different color gradient effect. With the Gradient Tool, we can select and drag to change the gradient directions. We can also also use the Color Picker to pick colors from our main ripple. To do this, select a gradient point first, then select the Color Picker and hold Shift as you click the main ripple to sample the color. With this in mind, we can quickly apply the gradients to all the ripples.

Step 16

Here is the final ripple. I have set the darkest ripple in the middle and it get’s lighter towards the edge.

Step 17 – Water Droplet

Let’s create the water droplet. Draw a blue circle using the Ellipse Tool. Go to Object>Create Gradient Mesh. Use the settings shown below.

Step 18

With the Direct Selection Tool, select the second point from the bottom. Set it to white using the Color Palette. Next, select the second point from the top and give it a lighter blue.

Step 19

Select the 3 points in the middle row and set it to a darker blue. Next we will start to edit the gradient mesh. Select the point beside the white point and drag it away from the white point. Do this for the other side and the 3 darkest points. Our goal here is to make the white highlight more oval instead of circle.

Step 20

Finally we move the water droplet above the ripple. Click and hold Alt/Option as you drag to create a duplicate. Repeat it until you have 3 water droplets above the ripple.

Step 21

Squash the second water droplet and resize it smaller using the Transform Tool. Also make the top water droplet the smallest. Finally, I make my final tweaking to the ripple by transforming it bigger as I felt it is too tight.

Step 22

If you are unhappy with the color for the the water droplets, you can further adjust it. Here’s how to do it. Select the 3 droplets and go Filter>Colors>Adjust Colors. Check Preview and increase the Green to make it look turquoise.

First of all we need to find an image that we are going to put our liquid text on. You want something with some pattern on it so that the liquid that you create can distort it. I used the wood grain image on the right (click for a much bigger version). Once you have your background image loaded up switch over to your channels palette and create a new channel. In this newly created channel you need to create your text. I used a font called Tree Frog, try and find something that is kind of liquidy looking. In this channel I also added a few water droplets to spice things up a bit. This is what my finished channel looks like. Now we need to create the displacement map that we are going to use when we run the glass filter in a few steps. Duplicated the channel that you created in the last step. Once you have the channel duplicated we need to blur it a bit. Go to Filters/Blur/Gaussian Blur, I used a value of 7 for the blur. The resulting channel should look like this.

The glass filter, which we are about to use, requires a separate image to be used we need to duplicate this channel and save it as a standalone image. To do this click the little arrow on top of the channels window and from the menu that drops down choose “Duplicate Channel”. After you click duplicate channel another window will popup. From this window that pops up from the drop down menu choose new and press ok. The image you created in the channel will now popup in it’s own window. Save the image that pops up as a PSD file, it doesn’t matter where but remember what you called it so that you can find it later. I named mine displacementmap.psd.

Now go back to your layers palette and duplicated you background image. In your layers palette you should now have a layer called background and one called background copy. Now lets break out the glass filter. The glass filter can be found by going to Filter/Distort/Glass. When you choose glass a new screen will popup, on this screen you need to load your displacementmap.psd as the texture. Press the little arrow next to the drop down menu and choose load and browse to wherever it was that you saved your image in the previous step. Fiddle with the Distortion and smoothness levels to taste. I used a Distortion level of 10 and a Smoothness level of 4, keep scaling at 100%. Your image should now look like this (click for bigger). Rename this layer, which is currently called “background copy” to “Glassy”. Now we need the original, unblurred copy of our text in the layers palette. To do this go back to your channels palette and ctrl-click the unblurred image which has your text and water drops on it to choose its selection. Go back to your layers palette, create a new layer between the background layer and the Glassy layer, and with the selection still active fill the selection with black. Your layers palette should now look like the image to the right. We need to join the text layer with the glass layer. To do this right click the Glassy layer and choose “Create Clipping Mask”. Your layers palette should now look like this. Now lets have some fun and really make this pop. We are going to be doing a few different layer styles. Select the layer that has your text on it (the middle layer) and open up your layer styles window, lets start with bevel and emboss (Layer/Layer Style/Bevel and Emboss). For bevel and emboss I used the following settings:

Now lets add a drop shadow. I used the following settings, for color click around your background image until you find a color that you like.

Next, lets add a bit of an outer glow to really make things stand out. Once again, here are the settings that I used.

Open a new document in Photoshop by going up to the File menu and choosing New…, or by using the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl+N (Win) / Command+N (Mac). You can choose your own width and height for your document, but if you want to follow along, I chose the 640×480 size from the list of available presets to keep things simple. I’ve also left my Resolution value set to its default of 72 pixels/inch. Since I’m creating this text effect for the web, it makes no difference what I set the resolution value to, so the default value is fine:

Photoshop Tutorials: Create a new document in Photoshop. To follow along, use the “640×480” preset size.

Step 2: Add Your Text

With your new blank document open, grab the Type tool from the Tools palette or by pressing T on your keyboard. Make sure black is selected as your foreground color. If it isn’t, just press D on your keyboard to reset it to black. Choose your font in the Options Bar at the top of the screen. Thick, heavy fonts work best for this effect. Then, go ahead and enter your text. I’m going to use “Impact”, and I’ll type the words “LIGHT BURST”:

With your text layer selected in the Layers palette, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+T (Win) / Command+T (Mac) to bring up the Free Transform box and handles around your text. Hold down Shift+Alt (Win) / Shift+Option (Mac) and drag out any of the corner handles to make your text larger and fill up more of the document area. Holding Shift constrains the text proportions, and holding Alt/Option resizes the text from the center:

Make sure to still leave plenty of room around the text for our light burst effect. Press Enter (Win) / Return (Mac) when you’re done to accept the transformation.

Step 4: Rasterize Your Text

We’re going to be applying several filters to our text, but Photoshop doesn’t allow us to do that without first rasterizing it, which simply means to convert it into pixels. So again with the text layer selected, go up to the Layer menu at the top of the screen, choose Rasterize, and then choose Type. This will convert our text into pixels. It will still look the same in the document window, but in the Layers palette, the Type layer will now be a regular layer:

Photoshop Tutorials: After rasterizing the text, the Type layer in the Layers palette becomes a normal layer.

Step 5: Add A Selection Around Your Text And Save It

Ctrl-click (Win) / Command-click (Mac) directly on the thumbnail preview area of the text layer in the Layers palette to quickly load a selection around your text:

With the text selected, go up to the Select menu at the top of the screen and choose Save Selection. When the Save Selection dialog box appears, just click OK. There’s no need to name it or make any changes to the options.

Switch over to your Channels palette for a moment (it’s grouped in beside the Layers palette) and you’ll see your selection saved as a new channel named “Alpha 1” at the very bottom. We’ll be coming back here a bit later to load our selection again:

Photoshop Tutorials: The selection is now saved as a new channel, “Alpha 1”, in Photoshop’s Channels palette.

Step 6: Use “Fill” To Fill Your Text Layer With White And Set The Blend Mode To “Multiply”

Switch back to your Layers palette once again, and with the text layer selected, go up to the Edit menu at the top of the screen and choose Fill, or press Shift+F5 on your keyboard to quickly bring up Photoshop’s Fill dialog box. When the dialog box appears, set the Contents to White and change the Blending Mode to Multiply:

Photoshop Tutorials: Photoshop’s “Fill” dialog box”.

Click OK when you’re done. Nothing will seem to have happened in your document window, but if you look at your text layer’s thumbnail in the Layers palette, you’ll see that all of the empty space around the text has now been filled with white, while leaving the text black thanks to that “Multiply” mode.

Step 7: Apply The Gaussian Blur Filter To The Text

Go up to the Filter menu at the top of the screen, choose Blur, and then choose Gaussian Blur. When the Gaussian Blur dialog box appears, enter a Radius value of about 4 pixels and click OK to apply a slight blurring to the text:

Photoshop Tutorials: Apply the Gaussian Blur filter to the text.

Here’s the text after applying Gaussian Blur:

Photoshop Tutorials: The text is now blurred slightly.

Step 8: Apply The “Solarize” Filter To The Text

With the text layer still selected, go back up to the Filter menu and this time choose Stylize, and then choose Solarize. This will turn the document black, and your text will appear as a white stroke:

Photoshop Tutorials: The image after applying the Solarize filter.

Step 9: Lighten The Text With Levels

The text is looking a little dark, so let’s lighten it. Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+L (Win) / Command+L (Mac) to bring up Photoshop’s Levels command, and drag the white point slider on the right in towards the left until you reach the right edge of the histogram:

Photoshop Tutorials: With the Levels dialog box open, grab the white point slider on the right and drag it to the right edge of the histogram to brighten the text.

Click OK. The text will now appear much brighter:

Photoshop Tutorials: The text is now much brighter after applying Levels.

Step 10: Make A Copy Of The Text Layer

We need to make a copy of the text layer at this point, so to do that, with the text layer selected, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J (Mac), which will add a copy of the layer above it in the Layers palette:

Photoshop Tutorials: The Layers palette now showing both the text layer and the copy above it.

Make sure the copy of the text layer is selected because all of these next steps are to be done on the copy. We won’t be touching the original again until near the end.

Step 11: Apply The “Polar Coordinates” Filter To The Text

Go back up to the Filter menu, and this time choose Distort, and then Polar Coordinates. We’re going to send our text to the North Pole. Alright, no we’re not. What we are going to do is make it look very strange. When the Polar Coordinates dialog box appears, select the Polar To Rectangular option at the very bottom and then click OK:

Photoshop Tutorials: Photoshop’s “Polar Coordinates” dialog box.

Your text will now look very strange indeed:

Photoshop Tutorials: The text after applying the “Polar Coordinates” filter.

Step 12: Rotate The Canvas 90 Degrees Clockwise

Go up to the Image menu at the top of the screen, select Rotate Canvas, and then choose 90° CW to rotate the canvas 90 degrees clockwise:

Go back up to the Filter menu once again, choose Stylize, and then choose Wind. When the Wind filter’s dialog box appears, make sure Method is set to Wind and Direction is set to From the Right:

Photoshop Tutorials: Photoshop’s “Wind” filter.

Click OK to apply the Wind filter once. Then press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+F (Win) / Command+F (Mac) twice to apply the same filter two more times.

Step 15: Invert The Image Again

Press Ctrl+I (Win) / Command+I (Mac) to invert the image once again:

Photoshop Tutorials: Invert the image once again using “Ctrl+I” (Win) / “Command+I” (Mac).

Step 16: Apply The “Wind” Filter Three More Times

With the image inverted, press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+F (Win) / Command+F (Mac) three more times to apply the filter to the image three more times:

Photoshop Tutorials: Apply the “Wind” filter to the image three more times.

Step 17: Brighten The Image Again With Levels

We need to brighten the image again using Levels, but this time, we’ll let Photoshop do the work for us by using Auto Levels. To do that, press Shift+Ctrl+L (Win) / Shift+Command+L (Mac) to apply the Auto Levels command to the image, which will brighten it up:

Photoshop Tutorials: The image after applying the “Polar Coordinates” filter a second time.

Step 20: Set The Layer Blend Mode To “Screen”

Go up to the blend mode options in the top left of the Layers palette and change the blend mode of the text copy layer from “Normal” to Screen by clicking on the down-pointing arrow and selecting “Screen” from the list:

Photoshop Tutorials: Change the blend mode of the text copy layer to Screen.

This reveals the original text layer beneath it:

Step 21: Apply A Gradient Fill Layer To Add Color

Click on the New Fill Or Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette:

Photoshop Tutorials: Click the “New Fill Or Adjustment Layer icon.

And select “Gradient” from the list:

Photoshop Tutorials: Select a Gradient fill layer.

When the Gradient Fill dialog box pops up, click inside the gradient preview area at the top:

Photoshop Tutorials: Click inside the gradient preview area.

This will bring up the Gradient Editor dialog box. Click on the gradient swatch in the top left, the black to white gradient first, and this will make sure that both colors on either side of the gradient have their opacity set to 100%:

Photoshop Tutorials: Select the black to white gradient swatch in the top left to make sure both colors are set to 100% opacity first.

Then set your gradient colors to whatever you like. I’ve set the color on the left to a reddish-orange, and the color on the right to a yellowish-orange:

Photoshop Tutorials: Set your gradient colors.

Exit out of the gradient dialog boxes once you’ve chosen your colors.

Step 22: Change The Blend Mode Of The Gradient Fill Layer To “Color”

With the Gradient fill layer selected, go back to the blend mode options in the top left of the Layers palette and change the layer’s blend mode to Color:

Photoshop Tutorials: Change the blend mode of the Gradient fill layer to “Color”.

The image is now colorized with the colors from the gradient:

Step 23: Apply A Radial Blur To The Original Text Layer

We’re done with the text copy layer at this point. We’re going to finish off the last few steps by working on the original text layer, so click on it in the Layers palette to select it. Then go up to the Filter menu, choose Blur, and then choose Radial Blur:

Photoshop Tutorials: Photoshop’s “Radial Blur” dialog box.

Set the Amount to about 65 pixels, the Blur Method to Zoom, and the Quality to Best, as circled above, and then click OK to apply the filter to the original text:

Photoshop Tutorials: The Radial Blur applied to the image.

Step 24: Load The Saved Text Selection

Only a couple of things left to do. First, switch over to your Channels palette again like we did earlier. We’re going to reload that selection we saved. To do that, simply right-click (Win) / Control-click (Mac) anywhere on the Alpha 1 channel at the very bottom, which will load the selection back into the document window:

Switch back to the Layers palette when you’re done. The selection is now loaded in the image:

Photoshop Tutorials: The selection now loaded into the image.

One thing left to do…

Step 25: Fill The Selection With Black

With the original text layer selected in the Layers palette and black still as your foreground color, press Alt+Backspace (Win) / Option-Delete (Mac) to fill the selection with black and finish the effect.

Open Photoshop and create a new document. I used 1680×1050 pixels. After that, type abduzeedo and go to Layer>Layer Style>Gradient Overlay. Use Red, Yellow, Green, and Light Blue for the colors. I used Futura for the typeface

Step 3

Let’s start mixing the vectors with the type. First you will have to find the right “ornament” for the letter you want. Then you will have to place it in a way that it follows the shape of that letter. In the image below you can see that the “ornament” seems to be coming from the “a”.

Step 3

After you align the ornament with the letter, it’s time to add some depth. To do that let’s use the Layer Styles. Go to Layer>Layer Styles>Drop Shadow. Use Multiply for the Blend Mode, Black for the color, 100% Opacity, -60% Angle, Distance of 5 pixels and Size of 5 pixels as well.

Step 4

Here let’s create a layer from the shadow of the layer style. To do that click with the right button of the mouse on the layer with the drop shadow. Then select Create Layer from the menu. That’s it, you’ll now have a layer with the shadow.

Step 5

Now that you have the shadow in a layer let’s apply a mask. Go to Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal All. Then select the Brush Tool(B). The color will be black and the brush will be regular with a diameter of 45 pixels and 0% hardness. Then just paint the mask to hide some parts of the shadow. The idea is to create the impression that the ornament is coming from, and passing above the letter.

Step 6

Repeat the same thing for the other letters. However it’s not necessary to do that for all of them. I only did it on the A, B, D, Z, E, D, and O. After that select the ornament and word layers, group them together and rename the group to “logo”. Tip: Always use the color of the exact part of the letter that the ornamet will come from.

Download the Vintage II pack and place “Vintage10.jpg” image to the document. Because the image is 1500 pixels and the document is 1680 pixels, you’ll have to duplicate the image and fill the remaining part of the document with it. After that go to Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation. Use Hue 49, Saturation 19, Lightness +35.

Step 8

Download the “15_textures__art___vintage_by_jocosity” pack and place the “textur2.jpg” in the document. Then change the Blend Mode to Overlay and go to Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation. Use Hue +2, Saturation -41, Lightness -75.

Step 9

Download the “Old_Paper_Textures_by_lailomeiel” pack and place the “DSC02679.JPG” in the document. It will go over the other textures, then just change theBlend Mode to Color burn. Now, select all texture layers and group them. Rename the group Textures.

Step 10

Select the “logo” group and go to Layer>Merge Group. This will convert the layer and all groups inside it to a single layer. Then go to Layer>Layer Style>Drop Shadow. Use Color Burn for the Blend Mode, 100% Opacity, -60º for the Angle, Distance and Size of 5px.

Step 11

Duplicate the “texture” group and change the blend mode of the “paper” layer to Overlay. Merge the group in order to create a unique layer from it. Change the order of the layers and put the new texture layer on top of the logo layer. Then go to Layer>Create Clipping Mask and change the Blend Mode to Multiply. Duplicate the texture layer again making sure that it is still with the clipping mask.Then just change the Blend Mode to Overlay.

Step 12

Group the “Logo” layer with the two texture clipping mask layers. Duplicate the group and merge it to a single layer. Then go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. Use 4.5 pixels for the Radius and change the Blend Mode to Screen and 80% Opacity.

Conclusion

In this tutorial we learnt how to mix some vector ornaments with a word to produce a nice typography. We also played around with vintage textures and cliping masks that gave our image a not so “clean” look. You can create many variations of this effect. Below I added a Radial Gradient so the textures only appear where the logo is. Again it’s all about experimentation.

Now, you can just use your own creativity to add layer styles/background color to your image, but if you want to create what i’ve done, apply the following layer styles to the original text layer.(note: You may need to adjust a few things with the settings because these settings have different effects depending on the size of the text)

This week we are going to look at creating a text effect using the new scatter brush option. This effect is simple to create and its not limited to text , you could create some great background effects with this technique.

Start with some text on a new layer.

Render the type so we can modify it freely.

Select quickmask mode.

Under brushes, choose one of the presets that use the scattering option.

Pain through the text using the brush.

Press the “Q” key to switch off the quickmask. You will now see a selection.

You will need to inverse the selection. Ctrl/Cmd+Shfit+I

Press the delete/backspace key to cut into the text.

If you want a stronger effect press the del key again. Here I pressed it 3 times.

Add a standard drop shadow in the layer styles and choose a bevel similar to shown. Be sure to change the gloss contour.

Change the color overlay to a bright green color.

And here is our effect!

If you want to go a step further add a 1 pixel stroke using layer styles.

c) Once you deem your blurration fit for submission, press Ctrl+A to select the entire channel, then copy it to the clipboard Ctrl+C.

d) Create a new image (Ctrl+N), of the same size (800×800), and paste (Ctrl+V) the blurred channel into it. Now, save this image as a glass_bump.psd into the same folder you are working from. You may now close it if you wish.

3

a) Download this photo by right clicking on the link then selecting ‘Save target as…‘. Open the image in photoshop.

Note: This can also be done by clicking on the link, so that the full image loads in your web browser, then drag the photo off the browser into Photoshop.

b)Once the image is in Photoshop, Select All (Ctrl+A), copy it to the clipboard (Ctrl+C), then go to the original image glass.psd and paste it (Ctrl+V) onto a new layer.

This will be the image which the glass refracts. Let it be known as the ‘Photo‘ layer.

Tip:

If you use your own photo instead of this one, such as pictures of water which look cool and refreshing, make sure that it is exactly the same size as the glass.psd, or else make sure that the edges of the Photo layer go beyond he edges of the image. Also, make sure you select the whole image (not layer) (Ctrl+A) before running the Glass filter, or else there will problems with the placement of the glass refraction. You will see.

4 a) With the Photo layer selected, select all (Ctrl+A), then go in the menu:

Filter > Distort > Glass…

b) From the texture dropdown, choose Load Texture…

Then select the bump map you saved earlier, glass_bump.psd, and press OK.

These sliders are self-explanatory, though for this demonstration I will use:

Distortion: 20Smoothness: 8

The Invert option may also produce a desired effect.

When you’re done here, press OK to apply the filter.

Note: Rendering the glass filter a second or third time on the same layer (Ctrl+F) may also produce desirable effects.

The following steps are entirely optional, and should be experimented with.

5 To fit the glass refraction inside the original form, hold down Alt, then move your mouse between the Type layer and the Photo layer, until a little icon with two intersecting circles replaces the cursor, then click.

This will use the Type layer transparency as a mask for the refracted Photo layer.

To disable this, click between the layers again holding down Alt.

6 a) Holding down Ctrl click the Type layer to select it’s transparency. Click on the Photo layer, then create a new layer above it.

Fill the new layer with a dark color, such as black, by pressing X (to select Black as foreground color), and then Alt+Backspace (to fill). Then deselect (Ctrl+D).

Rename this layer ‘Highlight‘, or something to this extent.

Set the blending mode for this layer to Overlay.

b) With the Highlight layer still selected, go in the menu:

Filter > Render > Lighting Effects…

Set your texture channel to the bump map created earlier (possibly Alpha 1), then setup some nice lights, according to the Lighting Effects tutorial.

Channel height set to 100 ‘Mountainous’, may or may not look hoopy.

When this is done, perhaps even change the blending mode to Color Dodge, or Screen… whatever appears the most groovy to your pulsating eyeballs.

In addition to the Photo layer, try refracting a layer of black and white scan lines to produce highly detailed moire patterns. This tutorial can also be used to create chrome looking items. Throw down drop shadows, stone textures, disgruntled dots, and hopefully better effects you’ve come up with by now.

Massage the pixels thoroughly, until they stimulate your eyeballs in return, and be sure to experiment until the persistantly unfolding depths of your mind push you to the brink of madness.

Ctrl+Click the layer thumbnail to get the selection. From select menu apply modify>>contract. Contract the selection by 3 pixels. Select the background layer. Press Ctrl+J to copy paste the selection in a new layer.

Move this layer above all the layers in layer order in layer palette. Double click the layer to open layer style window. Apply settings as shown.

Ctrl+Click the layer thumbnail to get the selection.

Press Q to enable quick mask.

From filter menu select Noise>>Add Noise. Apply settings as shown.

From filter menu select Texture>>Sandstone. Apply settings as shown.

Press Q to disable quick mask. Press Ctrl+J to copy paste the selection in a new layer.

Double click the layer to open layer style window. Apply settings as shown.

Ctrl+Click the “ilu_layer” thumbnail to get the selection. From select menu apply modify>>expand. Expand the selection by 10 pixels. Select the background layer. Press Ctrl+J to copy paste the selection in a new layer.

Apply “Add Noise” and ‘Mosaic Tiles” filters with the previous settings to this layer.

Double click the layer to open layer style window. Apply settings as shown.

Burning text is a great looking special effect and it can be achieved with relative ease in Photoshop. Even a glossy looking surface reflection is easy to pull off. This tutorial shows how to make flaming text, but the technique will work with any kind of object. Here’s what the finished product looks like from this tutorial:

Let’s get started by creating a new document and filling it with black. I made mine 800 by 800 pixels, but you can pick any size depending on how much text you need to fit in.

2

Time to put down the text we want to see burning. I just used the word “FIRE” for this example. I used the Arial Black font at 250 points since I thought the block letters would look more intense. Put the text in white. After you’ve typed in what you want, choose Layer->Rasterize->Type to turn the text into pixels. Then use the Move tool to reposition the text so that it’s centered horizontally and is just a little below the center line vertically. Here’s what it should look like at this point:

3

Duplicate the layer with the text on it. We’re going to use the duplicate to create the foreground text effect and the original text layer to create the rising flames illusion. Your layers should look like those to the right. We’re going to work on the middle layer next, so make sure it’s selected and highlighted as shown here.

4

To get the flames rising, we’re going to use the Wind filter. This filter only works going to the left or right, so we have to rotate our canvas first. Choose Image->Rotate Canvas->90 CW. Make sure the middle layer is still selected and choose Filter->Stylize->Wind. Select “Wind” and “From the Left” in the options and click OK. We need more wind than one application of the filter provides, so hit Cmd-F four times (or cntl-F if you’re on Windows) to apply the filter four more times. You can use more or less applications depending on how high you want the flames to go. Finally, rotate the canvas back to normal with Image->Rotate Canvas-> 90 CCW. This is what it should look like now:

5

Now we need to make the wind streaks look more like flames by blurring them together. Select Filter->Blur->Gaussian Blur and set the radius to 3 (make sure you still have the middle layer selected). You can use more or less blur depending on how you want the flames to look. Here’s what I got so far:

6

The next step is to give our flame layer a black background which will be needed for the next step. To do this, duplicate Layer 1 (our original background layer) and merge this duplicate layer with the blurred text layer we just made. This won’t change the look of the image just yet, but your layers should now look like those to the right.

7

With the middle layer still selected, go to Filter->Liquify. We’ll use this to give the flames a wavy look. I set the brush size to 80, density to 11 and pressure to 92. Now take the Warp tool and push the streaks around to get a sort of rising “S” pattern over the letters. Also push a bit around the sides of the letters to show some flames coming from the sides, and don’t forget to work around the inside of the “F”, “R” and the “E”. This step takes a little practice, but it’s not too hard. When you’re happy with what you see, hit OK. Here’s mine:

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Time for some color. Select Image->Adjustments->Hue/Saturation and select Colorize so we can fiddle with the color. Bring Saturation up to 100 and set Hue to about 40.

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Duplicate this colorized layer and select this duplicate in the layers palette. Select Image->Adjustments->Hue/Saturation again, this time with Colorize off. Set the Hue to -20 to make the flames red. Set the Blending Mode of this duplicate layer to Overlay. Now we’ve got some nice looking flames:

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Next we want to add some color to the top text layer that just has white letters at the moment. So click on the top layer to make it active and click on the Lock Transparency icon above the layer. This protects all the transparent pixels in the layer from changes so we can change the color of the text alone. We’ll make the text a gradient from yellow to brown, so set the foreground color to #f9e400 and the background color to #a36a06 (you may vary these). Select the Gradient Tool and swipe a gradient from top to bottom across the letters. Because of the locked transparency, only the text is affected by the gradient tool.

Create great looking, 3-Dimensional, gooey looking text . This technique does require minimal drawing skills but is definitely suitable for beginners. Enjoy and stay tuned for more tutorials!

Gooey Photoshop Text Tutorial

Step 1 – Canvas-

It’s important for this tutorial that you set up the same size canvas as the effects we’ll apply will vary depending on how many pixels it’s across. To use in smaller or bigger projects you will need to tweak the settings applied throughout this tutorial. Set up a 2500 X 1500 pixel, RGB document at 300dpi.

Step 2 – Texting

Select the Horizontal Type Tool, set the colour to a lightish grey and write your word. It’s best to use a fairly uncomplicated and bold font, I’ve gone for Avant Garde in Bold. Adjust the tracking to 50 as we’ll need space in between letters to allow for gooey growth. Press CTRL+T or go to Edit > Free Transform and resize your text by holding the SHIFT key (to maintain aspect ratio) and pulling one of the corner points with the mouse.

Step 3 – Ready the Tools

Select the Pen Tool and set it Shape Layers. Set the foreground colour to 40C, 10M, 100Y, 0K. Zoom into 100% and you are now ready to draw.

Step 4 – Drawing

Draw your first point at the start of the first letter. The best way to draw a curve is to position one anchor point at the origin of the curve and one at the end point or point at which the curve changes. To split an anchor point you hold the ALT key and click on the last drawn anchor point. This will delete the outward part of the handle and allow you to draw another one in (on the same anchor point) at any angle without altering the direction of the inward handle. This splitting technique allows for sharp angles following a curve.

Step 5 – Editing your points

Continue drawing loosely around the shape, adding some drips at the bottom to mimic gravity. Use the Direct Selection Tool (Behind the Path Selection Tool if you hold the mouse button) to manipulate the anchor points and the curve handles. In order to create an elongated bulbous end at the bottom of a drip you’ll need to pull the bottom facing handles out further. At any point if you’re not happy with the position or angle of your point, you can manipulate it with the Direct Selection Tool.

Step 6 – Best foot forward

I find it’s easier to draw the drips from top to bottom (following the gravitational pull) so once you hit the bottom of the letter, use the Direct Selection Tool to click anywhere on the canvas. Then select the first point (at the top of the letter) with the Pen Tool and draw in the rest. Something I forgot to mention earlier is to set the fill at 80% so you can see the letter underneath.

Step 7 – Subtracting

To get the hole in letters such as ‘O’ or ‘A’ you’ll need to set the Pen Tool to Subtract from shape area. Draw the outer shape of the ‘O’ and close off the path. Select the path thumbnail so that it highlights the path, set the Pen Tool to Subtract from shape area and draw in where the hole should be.

Step 8 – Finishing off

Complete the rest of the letters and set the Fill for each layer at 100%.

Step 9 – Inner Shadow

Select the ‘G’ layer and go to Layer > Layer Style > Inner shadow and setup as in the screen grab.

Step 10 – Inner Glow

Working on the same layer, select the Inner Glow setting and setup as in the screen grab.

Draw in more drips on top of the letters. Copy and paste the Layer Style as before and go to Layer > Layer Style > Scale Effects… scale them back to fit the size of the drip, in this case it’s 40%. Then go to Layer > Layer Style > Inner Glow and scale the opacity back to 60%.

Step 15 – Rasterize and Mask

Create a new layer directly below the new drip you just drew. Select the drip and the blank layer and merge them (Layer > Merge Layers). Add a Layer Mask (Layer > Add Layer Mask > Reveal All) and use a soft-edged paintbrush loaded with black to mask off the top of the drip. Repeat this process until you’ve covered the word.

Step 16 – Depth

To add depth, draw some more drips beneath the letter layers. Copy, paste and scale the layer effects to save time.

Step 17 – Texture

It’s a good idea to add texture to the final text to make it feel more ‘real world’. You can either overlay an easily downloadable grunge texture or try the following method: Go to Filter > Noise and add a 2 pixel noise filter. Then go to Filter > Blur Gaussian Blur and apply a 0.6 pixel blur.

Step 1 Find yourself a nice photo of a wall to put your logo on (i found this image on the internet with Google Images). Every image is suitable if there is a suitable structure (no smooth walls!).

Step 2 Place the logo you want to use in a new layer. The logo has to be a pixel-based image (no fonts, paths and shapes) because in the next step we will apply a “perspective transfer” wich requires the layer to be pixel-based.

Step 3 Select “perspective transform” in the edit-menu en change the aspects of the logo that it fits the perspective of the wall. When you mak a “perspective transform” the selection you’re transforming gets a bounbing box. You can use the lines of this bounding box to align the logo with the wall.

Step 4 The logo was just a bit to wide, but thats no problem. You can adjust this with the normal transform tool (CTRL+T). Make it a bit smaller so it will fit nicely in the wall. If the perspective of the logo doesn’t look realistic, redo the previous steps, because the realism of this is the most important.

Step 5 After this, put the blending mode of the logo layer to “overlay”:

The result:

Step 6 The logo still has sharp edges and looks more like a sticker than a graffiti drawing. To make this a bit more realistic we are going to blur the edges a bit. To blur only the edges, but not the logo, you’ll have to make a copy of the layer and place it under te original logo.

Step 7 The, blur the copied layer with a “Gaussian Blur” with a value of 5,0 pixels. The gaussian blur is found in the filter-menu.

Step 8 At last, to improve the realism, use the eraser tool to erase the logo where the wall is worn down.

Step 1: First, we’ll need something written in 3D. We have two possible variations:

If you prefer a bit of Mac spice, use the command “Extrude and Bevel” in illustrator. This tutorial from PSDUTS may help you through it.

If you swing more toward a Windows flavor, Xara3D is another. If you don’t have Xara 3D, have no fear. We always come prepared: click on the thumbnail below to download a sample.

Step 2: Place the 3D text and rename it as “3D Text”. Then, with the Magic Wand Tool select the face of the letters and cut that part as you can see from the screnshoots below.

Step 3: With me so far? Now comes the fun part. Make two copies of this layer, one for backup (“3D Text Copy”) and another one (“3D Text Blur”). Set the backup copy aside to cool for a bit (aka, Hide). Leave the other two layers (“3D Text” and “3D Text Blur”) on the fire and easily accessible. Turn down the heat a bit on “3D Text Blur”; let it simmer for a while and come back to it later.

Step 4: Next, create a new layer group, rename it “Effects”, and change the blending option of this group to “Color Dodge”. Now, being careful not to disturb the other layers, reach inside this new layer group and, with a flick of the wrist, create a new layer, applying the filter “Clouds” (Filter -> Render -> Clouds) to give it that nice, puffy consistency that we’ve all come to know and love.

Step 5: Dropping just below that group in your palette, create another group, this one named “Colors”. Remember that little wrist-flick technique from Step 4? Didn’t get it quite to your satisfaction the first time? Well, we’re going to give it a go again. As before, within this new group you’ll need to create a new layer; add a sprinkle of pink, and with the gradient tool (in Radial Mode) draw a soft edge glow. After that, set the layer blending mode to the “Low” mixer setting, or “Soft Light”.

At this point, you might see a strange pink cloud, but don’t worry. All part of the plan.

Step 6: Repeat the previous step with two other bright colors, but placed differently.

Step 7: Now, for the “secret ingredient.”Do you remember the “3D Text Blur” we set aside way back in Step 3?Well, it’s been simmering long enough! Select it now and apply a Gaussian Blur of 13 pixel radius (Filter -> Blur -> Gaussian Blur)

Step 8: Now the creative part. Add a new layer in the “Effects” group, immediately above the “Clouds”. Download a cool brush from DeviantArt and use white to trace around the inside face of each the letters.

Step 9: Still with me? We’re almost there! Carefully slide yet another new layer between the two groups (“Effects” and “Clouds”).Reach for your trusty Gradient Tool (this time in Linear Mode), choose White and, holding down the Shift key, drag the Gradient tool from the outside edges of the canvas to the middle of the image.Set your blending mode to “Saturation” and see what happens…

Step 10: Ready for another layer? We’ll need a new one in the “Effects” group; name it “Abstract Lights”.

Step 11: Then ctrl-click (command-click for you Mac lovers) the “3D Text” layer icon in the layer’s palette and paint inside the new selection with a custom abstract brush as we did in Step 8 (remember, use WHITE).

Step 12: You’ve made it. The final step. The icing on all of these layers. Create…one…last…layer above the “White” layer we just did.

Use a nice LARGE custom brush, like this, and draw a single Cloud above the text. Apply a Motion Blur (Filter -> Blur -> Motion Blur) with an Angle of “-11? and a distance of “200? pixels.Change the Opacity to “30%” and apply a gradient overlay with the following settings:

Voila!

There you have it. A quick, easy way to spruce up any old 3D text into something to set anyone’s mouth watering. Serve hot or cold to your friends, and watch ‘em drool…

Enjoy!

For a bit of a twist—if you’re feeling a bit adventurous–above all the layers, try new custom brushes (like smoke) and repeat the last step to apply cool lights. Experimenting can be fun!